Samuel Gibbs

Samuel Gibbs (-8 January 1815) was a Major-General of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812.

Biography
Samuel Gibbs was appointed an ensign in the 102nd Regiment of Foot in October 1783, but later transferred to the 11th Regiment of Foot. He served with the 11th in Corsica, and on board Lord Samuel Hood's fleet in the Mediterranean from the spring of 1794 till the end of 1795, when he obtained a company. He served in Gibraltar many times in his career. In May 1798 he accompanied the expedition which was sent under the command of Sir Eyre Coote to cut the sluices at Ostend, and was taken prisoner, but included in the exchange of prisoners which took place the following Christmas.

In 1799 he succeeded to the rank of major, and accompanied the 11th to the West Indies, where he commanded it in an attack on St. Martin's in the expedition against the Danish and Swedish islands, and in the island of Martinique. In 1802 he was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the 10th West India Regiment, and returned to England after peace was declared. Gibbs fought in India in the Travancore War and other conflicts with Indian states. On 25 July 1810 he received the brevet rank of colonel, and in March 1811 accompanied the expedition under Sir Samuel Auchmuty, which was sent by Lord Minto to conquer Java from the Dutch. On 26 August he supported, with the 59th and the 4th battalion of Bengal volunteers, the attack made by Colonel Gillespie on Fort Corselis, and took one of the redoubts of this stronghold by storm; and on 16 September he led the final attack against the Dutch general Janssens, which resulted in the surrender of the island.

Shortly afterwards Gibbs left India, and in 1812 was appointed to the command of the two British regiments stationed with the allied forces at Stralsund. In the following year he served in Holland, and on 4 June was appointed major-general. In the autumn of 1814 he was appointed second in command under Sir Edward Pakenham of the expedition sent out to support the British forces in the United States. This expedition landed on Christmas day, and on 26 Dec. began the operations which preceded the attack on New Orleans on 8 Jan. 1815. In this attack Gibbs, who commanded one of the main columns, was severely wounded, and died on the following day. By a proclamation of the prince regent on 2 January 1815 he was made a knight commander of the Bath.